'Sexy' Cyrus photo spread puts parents in a tough spot

Tuesday

Apr 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2008 at 12:50 PM

As part of a photo shoot for Vanity Fair, 15-year-old Miley Cyrus - known also for her "Hannah Montana'' persona - was photographed, presumably topless, looking over one shoulder while covering her chest with a cream-colored bed sheet.

Peter Reuell

How's this for a familiar story?

A teen-age actress and pop star rises to dizzying fame spurred by a Disney channel TV show and a seemingly untarnished, virginal, old-fashioned good-girl image, only to find herself mired in a sex scandal.

It's not the Britney Spears story, or Christina Aguilera's, though both fit the storyline. It's not even Hillary Duff's story.

This time, the tale belongs to Miley Cyrus.

As part of a photo shoot for Vanity Fair, the 15-year-old Cyrus - known also for her "Hannah Montana'' persona - was photographed, presumably topless, looking over one shoulder while covering her chest with a cream-colored bed sheet.

The photos and an accompanying interview are slated for an upcoming issue of the magazine but have already touched off a debate about whether the images add to the already troubling trend of sexualizing teen girls.

"It's just that she's supposed to be a role model for teen girls,'' said 19-year-old Hopkinton resident Rachel Mutschler. "Society is kind of telling girls to be whores.''

Among parents, the reaction to the image was equally negative.

"It's over the top for a 15-year-old,'' said Framingham resident Jan Graham. "They should still be enjoying their childhood (at that age). They're growing up too fast these days.''

Graham said her 10-year-old daughter is a fan of Hannah Montana, Cyrus's alter-ego.
"If she sees (the picture) we'll discuss it,'' she said. "It's tough. You need to tell them about your moral values, and we don't pose like that for photos.''

In the wake of the photo scandal Cyrus has said she was "embarrassed'' by the photos, while Vanity Fair editors have emphasized that Cyrus' parents were present when the pictures were taken.

Experts such as Patrice Oppliger, a Boston University assistant professor of mass communications and author of the new book "Girls Gone Skank,'' say the apologies and finger-pointing are beside the point.

"The problem is we're sexualizing girls younger and younger,'' she said. "It's a sheet, it looks like she has no clothes on. It doesn't matter how much skin she's showing, it's the fact that it's a sexy picture of a 15-year-old girl.''

Oppliger doesn't believe the photos will spark a rash of nude or semi-nude photography among Cyrus's `tween' and teen fan base, but only because many of those fans are taking those pictures already.

Though statistics show many teens and tweens are waiting longer to have sex and using drugs and alcohol in fewer numbers, they don't show what has become a dark side of teen life, Oppliger said.

"If you look at any 12-year-old girl's MySpace page, they're just awful,'' she said. "They're putting pictures of themselves their friends took. It's very sexual and it's very public.

"The thesis of my book was men used to trick women into exposing themselves, but now it's just this culture where women are more than happy to do it.''

"I think we have overly sexualized our young people, right down to the demographic that looks at her work,'' agreed Framingham State College sociology professor Lucille Lawless.

Lawless, however, believes the controversial photo may also mark the beginning of an effort - although a mistaken one - by Cyrus to move toward a more grown-up career path.

"This could be a mis-step for her, career-wise, because she does have a few more years she could work this (Hannah Montana) angle, but she, frankly, only has a few more years,'' she said. "The question is what will she do next.''

But if the aim of the controversial photo spread was to push Cyrus out of the tween world and into the mainstream spotlight, it was mishandled, said Michael Pagnotta, president of Reach Media.

A former media adviser to the Olsen Twins, Pagnotta said a member of Cyrus's staff should have stepped in before the photo was even taken.

"The natural temptation, when you've had a certain amount of success is to next-level it,'' he said. "But when you do that, you need to be prepared, because what the Vanity Fair reader wants to know about Miley Cyrus ... is very different than the Hannah Montana fan and their mom wants to know about Miley Cyrus.

"They should have had ground rules going in, and if nobody was on the set, somebody should have been. If somebody was, they should have been comfortable overruling (the photographer.) That shouldn't be her job, there should be people who anticipate something like this and make sure it never happens.''

For parents like Framingham resident Cindy Nourse, the photos left them in a difficult position.

"If it was my daughter, I'd be mad,'' she said. "But whatever, to each his own.''

Waltham resident Melissa Tocco, however, believes the blame should lie with the photographer.

"I don't think the photographer should have asked her to pose like that, knowing her age,'' she said.

Is she worried how the photos will effect other girls.

"If they have good parents, they'll teach them the right values anyway,'' Tocco said.

Peter Reuell can be reached at 508-626-4428, or at preuell@cnc.com.

The MetroWest Daily News

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